May 19, 1998

Port of Ridgefield plans massive cleanup

RIDGEFIELD, Clark County -- The state Department of Ecology has awarded a $3.9 million grant to the Port of Ridgefield to help jump-start cleanup of an abandoned and severely contaminated wood-treating site along the Lake River. The 40-acre, port-owned site was occupied for 30 years by Pacific Wood Treating Corp. (PWT), which used creosote, pentachlorophenol, copper, chromium and arsenic to treat wood products. The chemicals dripped into the site's soil and groundwater and entered the Lake River, which connects the Columbia River with Vancouver Lake. The contaminated site also neighbors the 5,000-acre Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, land reserved by the federal government to provide fish and wildlife habitat. Ecology first ordered cleanup of the site in 1991. The port inherited PWT's cleanup responsibilities when the company filed for bankruptcy in 1993. Total cleanup of the site is estimated to cost $40 million and take up to 10 years to complete. Ecology's $3.9 million grant is coming from state Model Toxics Control Act funding. The port already has done some cleanup work with $300,000 of its own funds, along with two previous Model Toxics Control Act grants totaling $1.1 million. Since September 1996, 2.38 million pounds of hazardous waste and chemicals have been removed from the site. The port says it already has measured a large reduction in toxic contamination entering the Lake River. In 1994 the port hired Maul Foster & Alongi, an environmental consulting firm in Vancouver, Wash., to oversee its phased cleanup program. In November 1997, the port hired CET Environmental Services of Portland to demolish the wood-treating plant and remove the hazardous chemicals. And in January 1998, Advanced Environmental Technical Services of Fremont, Calif., was called on by the port to sample, profile, characterize, consolidate and remove hazardous wastes abandoned by PWT. The port has budgeted another $1.46 million for cleanup work in 1998. The port also expects to receive additional money from PWT's bankruptcy settlement, which is now pending in federal court. The port's redevelopment plans for the property include using 7 acres of the site for expansion of the city of Ridgefield's wastewater treatment plant. Cleanup of that 7-acre parcel is expected to cost $12.5 million. Ecology says it will provide water-quality grants and loans to help pay for the treatment plant's construction after designs are submitted and approved. State and local officials say wastewater planning is important in Ridgefield to keep up with the city's and Clark County's rapid growth. Ridgefield's population of 1,770 could jump 50 percent if two new housing developments are approved.

Recycling/transfer station to be upgraded

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE -- Snohomish County is planning to improve and expand its Southwest Recycling and Transfer Station in Mountlake Terrace. The basic operation of the station -- packing waste into enclosed containers for shipment off site -- will not change. The new design and expansion are expected to:

• move traffic off the street by expanding the vehicle-holding area;
• increase safety on the site and on surrounding streets;
• enclose some activities in order to reduce noise; and
• accommodate increased solid-waste and recycling volumes as the local population grows.

The county's first step toward expanding the Southwest facility will be to purchase several properties next to the site. Once that is done, the county will begin a final design process for the improved station. For more information, contact project manager Sego Jackson at (425) 388-6490 (phone); (425) 259-4945 (fax); or Sego.Jackson@co.snohomish.wa.us (e-mail).

May 15, 1998

CB Richard Ellis

Diana Goodwin Shavey has joined CB Richard Ellis as a vice president in the HUD Specialties Group. She is a former regional official with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. At CB, Shavey will work with company offices nationwide on issues related to refinancing, sales, and troubled properties that were financed under HUD 236 and 221 (d)(3) limited dividend programs.

Fisher Properties

Virginia A. Wesley has joined Fisher Properties Inc. as director of property management. A certified property manager, Wesley most recently was senior property manager for Quadrant/KMS Management Services in Bellevue.

Pinnacle

Scott Mencaccy has been named president of the west region of Pinnacle Realty Management Co. A 12-year veteran of California real estate, Mencaccy will manage Pinnacle's growing portfolio of 4,000 multifamily units and 1 million square feet of commercial space in that state. Within 24 months he plans to expand to 20,000 multifamily units and 10 million square feet of commercial space. Pinnacle is an international real estate management and brokerage firm based in Seattle's Pioneer Square. The firm has also expanded into the St. Louis market: since opening an office there under investment manager John Koncki in December, the firm has begun management of 1,800 multifamily units in four states. That figure should reach 2,500 by year's end.

Cushman & Wakefield

Michael V. Shigley has been named an associate director at Cushman & Wakefield of Washington, Inc. He is a member of the firm's Valuation Advisory Services group. Shigley previously was active in the restructuring of the savings and loan industry, handling the underwriting, structuring and sale of several billion dollars' worth of commercial mortgage-backed securities. He has worked at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., E.F. Hutton and Merrill Lynch Commercial Real Estate Finance in New York.

The Real Estate Connection

Ken Robins and Angela Whitney have joined the Bellevue office of The Real Estate Connection, a full service real estate firm. Robins is a residential sales agent. Whitney is office manager.

Windermere

Windermere Real Estate has added three new sales agents in its Seattle-area offices. Pearl Eggerud has joined the Federal Way office after working seven years at the General Services Administration. Michelle Acquavella has joined the Wedgwood office. She previously worked as an accountant. And Nancy Miller is new to the Sand Point office after working for Mueller Sports Medicine as vice president of sales.

WAR education conference and trade show

The 1998 WAR education conference and trade show will be held Oct. 1 and 2 at Meydenbauer Convention Center, Bellevue. The event features nationally known speakers and classes on personal financial planning and business psychology. The price is $59 (before June 1) and includes the trade show box lunch. Or, for $75, you can have all of the above plus the keynote lunch. For information, call 1-800-748-7053.

BOMA meeting

The May general meeting of the Building Owners and Managers Association will be held at noon on the 18th in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The speakers will be David Randell, of Pacific Fiber Link Project; Gary Grant, president of the Seattle Port Commission; and Andrea Riniker, director of the Port of Tacoma. BOMA members with reservations pay $25; non-members or those without reservations pay $30. For information or reservations, call (206) 622-8924.

Retail construction at Northwest Landing

Rockmann Development Group of Tacoma is constructing a two-story, 15,800-square-foot building at Northwest Landing in the first phase of retail development there. The site is at Barksdale Station, just off the ramp at I-5 Exit 119. Tenants for the project are Starbucks Coffee, First Tech Credit Union, Teriyaki Bar & Grill, Red Nails Salmon and Arrowhead Dry Cleaner. Opening is set for Labor Day, or thereabouts. The project was designed by Helix Architecture, of Tacoma. The contractor is Rushforth Construction, of Fife; the civil engineer is AHBI of Tacoma. Leasing information is available from Axiom commercial Real Estate, (253) 473-5351.